Jess Fishlock facts for kids
_032.jpg)
Fishlock with the Seattle Reign in 2024
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jessica Anne Fishlock | ||
| Date of birth | 14 January 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||
| Height | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Seattle Reign FC | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Cardiff City | |||
| Newport Strikers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002–2007 | Cardiff City | ||
| 2007–2008 | Bristol Academy | ||
| 2008–2010 | AZ | 31 | (6) |
| 2011–2012 | Bristol Academy | 26 | (7) |
| 2012–2013 | Melbourne Victory | 18 | (5) |
| 2013– | Seattle Reign FC | 200 | (42) |
| 2013 | → Glasgow City (loan) | 6 | (2) |
| 2013–2014 | → Melbourne Victory (loan) | 17 | (5) |
| 2014–2015 | → FFC Frankfurt (loan) | 17 | (2) |
| 2015–2018 | → Melbourne City (loan) | 38 | (17) |
| 2018–2019 | → Olympique Lyonnais (loan) | 12 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | → Reading (loan) | 19 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| Wales U-19 | |||
| 2006– | Wales | 156 | (46) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2012 | Cardiff City Ladies (player-coach) | ||
| 2015–2016 | Melbourne City (player-assistant coach) | ||
| 2017 | Melbourne City (player-head coach) | ||
| 2017–2018 | Melbourne City (player-assistant coach) | ||
† Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Jessica Anne Fishlock (born January 14, 1987) is a Welsh professional footballer and coach. She plays as a midfielder for Seattle Reign FC and the Wales national team. She is Wales’s all-time top goal scorer.
Jess has played for many teams around the world. These include Bristol Academy in England, AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands, and Glasgow City in Scotland. She also played for Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in Australia. In Germany, she played for FFC Frankfurt.
Fishlock has won the Welsh Footballer of the Year award five times. She was the first Welsh player to play 100 games for her country in April 2017. She has won many championships with her teams. These include two Dutch Eredivisie titles and four Australian W-League championships. She also won the Scottish Women's Premier League and two NWSL Shields. In 2021, she was named the NWSL Most Valuable Player.
In 2017, Fishlock coached Melbourne City to win their second W-League Grand Final title in a row. She also coached Cardiff City Ladies F.C. earlier in her career.
Contents
Early Life and Football Start
Jess Fishlock was born in Cardiff, Wales. Her parents are Kevyn and Sharon Fishlock. She has two brothers and three sisters.
As a child, she started playing football with her sister. At age 7, she joined Cardiff City Ladies F.C.. Later, she also played for Newport Strikers.
Club Football Career
Playing for Cardiff City Ladies (2002–2005)
Fishlock began her senior career with Cardiff City Ladies F.C. She played her first game for the senior team at age 16. Her debut was against Reading Royals on September 29, 2002. In her first season, she scored 19 goals in 23 games.
Laura McAllister, who was Cardiff City's captain, said Jess was a "fabulous player." She added that Jess had "superb skills" and was very ambitious. At 16, Jess helped her team win the 2004–05 SW Combination League Championship. They won without losing any games. The team also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. They won the Welsh Cup and moved on to the UEFA Women's Cup.
As of February 2013, Fishlock was still the club's top goal scorer ever.
Playing for AZ Alkmaar (2008–2010)
In 2008, the Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar asked Jess to join them. She became the first international player in the Eredivisie league. Jess won two league titles in a row with AZ Alkmaar. These were in the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 seasons. She left the team before the 2010/2011 season.
Playing for Bristol Academy WFC (2011–2012)
In 2011, Fishlock joined Bristol in England's FA Women's Super League (FA WSL). In the 2011 season, Bristol finished higher than expected in the league. They also reached the FA Cup Final, but lost 2–0 to Arsenal.
Fishlock won several awards that year. She was named the Club Player of the Year and Fans Player of the Year. She was also chosen for the league's All-Star Team. In the same year, she was named Welsh Women's Footballer of the Year.
In the 2012 season, Bristol reached their highest league position ever. They also made it to the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Continental Cup. Jess won more awards, including Club Players Player of the Year and Fans Player of the Year. She also won the FA WSL Players Player of Year, voted by managers and players.
Playing for Melbourne Victory (2012–2014)
In November 2012, Fishlock joined Melbourne Victory in Australia for six weeks. She was a guest player and helped the team reach their first ever grand final. In one game against Canberra United, she scored the winning goal in the 94th minute. This put Melbourne at the top of the league. Fans loved her during her six games with Melbourne. She was also nominated for the league's Player of the Year Award.
In September 2013, Fishlock returned to Melbourne Victory for the 2013/14 season. She was on loan from Seattle Reign FC. She played 11 games and scored three goals. She helped the team win the Grand Final, beating Brisbane Roar 2–0. Fishlock assisted Lisa De Vanna for the winning goal. She was named the Most Valuable Player of the Match. This win was the Victory's first Grand Final title.
Playing for Seattle Reign FC (2013–present)
In February 2013, Fishlock joined NWSL team Seattle Reign FC for their first season. In her second game, she scored her first goal against the Portland Thorns FC. This was in front of a huge crowd of 16,479 fans. The media named her the NWSL Player of the Week for that week. Fishlock played in 21 out of 22 regular season games. She was a top scorer for the team with four goals.
Fishlock returned to the Reign for the 2014 season. The team set a league record by not losing for 16 games in a row. During this time, the Reign won 13 games and tied 3. The Reign finished first in the regular season, winning the NWSL Shield for the first time. They beat the Washington Spirit 2–1 in the semi-finals. However, they lost 2–1 to FC Kansas City in the championship final. After the season, Fishlock and teammates Kendall Fletcher, Kim Little, and Nahomi Kawasumi were named to the league's Best XI team. Fishlock scored four goals and made 8 assists in 22 games.
In the 2015 season, Fishlock scored her first goal in the team's first home game. Her goal helped the Reign win 5–1 against Western New York Flash. She also scored a goal against the Washington Spirit in a 3–1 win. Fishlock was named NWSL Player of the Week for her performance. The Reign finished first again, winning the NWSL Shield for the second time. They reached the championship final but lost 1–0 to FC Kansas City. Fishlock was again named to the NWSL Best XI team.
In the 2016 season, Fishlock missed some games due to injury. The team finished fifth and just missed out on the playoffs.
Loan to Glasgow City
After the NWSL season in August 2013, Fishlock joined Scottish Women's Premier League champions Glasgow City on loan. She stayed until November 2013. The coach, Eddie Wolecki Black, said her signing was important for the club and the country. He said she would bring experience and raise the team's standard. She scored two goals in six games, helping the club win the regular season and the Scottish Women's Cup. She also played in four matches in the 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League.
Loan to FFC Frankfurt
.jpg)
Fishlock played for FFC Frankfurt in Germany during the 2014–15 NWSL off-season. She was a key player in the team's success. Frankfurt did not lose any games in the second half of the season. This helped them become the champions of Europe. Even though Fishlock returned to Seattle before the 2015 UEFA Women's Champions League Final, her help was important. She earned a UEFA Women's Champions League medal for her contributions.
Loan to Melbourne City
Fishlock played on loan for Melbourne City FC in Australia from 2015 to 2018. In the club's first season (2015-16), Fishlock was a starting midfielder. She helped the new team win both the Premiership and Championship titles. Fishlock also worked as a player-assistant coach that season.
She returned the next season and helped the club win their second W-League title in a row. In the 2017-18 season, Fishlock helped City win their third championship title. She was named Player of the Match in the final.
Loan to Reading
On August 19, 2020, Fishlock joined Reading Women on loan from Seattle Reign FC. This happened because there were questions about when the NWSL season would restart. In a game against Brighton & Hove Albion, she scored two goals. This helped Reading win 3–1.
International Career with Wales
Fishlock first played for the Wales U-19 national team at age 16. After being captain of the U–19 team, she joined the senior national team. Her first game was against Switzerland in 2006. She was the captain of the senior team from 2012 to 2015.
In 2013, Fishlock scored the winning goal in Wales' first game at the 2013 Algarve Cup against Mexico. She also scored Wales' only goal against Portugal in the knockout stage.
On April 5, 2017, Fishlock became the first Welsh player to reach 100 games for the national team. On April 9, 2024, she became the first Welsh player to reach 150 games. On July 14, 2024, she scored her 45th goal for Wales against Kosovo. This made her the Welsh national team's all–time top goal scorer, passing Helen Ward.
Coaching Career
In 2012, Fishlock was the first team coach for her old team, Cardiff City Ladies FC. She worked alongside Manager Jamie Sherwood.
For Melbourne City FC's first season in 2015–16, Fishlock was a player-assistant coach. She worked with head coach Joe Montemurro. She continued in this role for the 2016–17 season.
During the 2016–17 season, head coach Joe Montemurro moved to coach the men's team. Fishlock was then promoted to player-head coach. In February 2017, she coached Melbourne City to win their second W-League Grand Final title in a row. She also scored a goal in the 2–0 win. With this win, she became the first player-coach to win the league title in the W-League's history.
In October 2017, Melbourne City FC announced that Fishlock would return for the 2017–18 season as a player-assistant coach.
Awards and Recognition
In the 2018 Birthday Honours, Fishlock was given the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). This was for her work in women's football. She received her MBE from The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace in December 2018.
Player Awards
AZ Alkmaar
- Eredivisie: 2008–09, 2009–10
Bristol Academy
- FA Cup runner-up: 2010–11
Melbourne Victory
- W-League Championship: 2013–14; runner-up: 2012–13
- W-League Premiership: 2013–14
Seattle Reign FC
- NWSL Shield: 2014, 2015, 2022
- NWSL Championship runner-up: 2014, 2015, 2023
- The Women's Cup: 2022
FFC Frankfurt
- UEFA Women's Champions League: 2014–15
Melbourne City
- W-League Championship: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
- W-League Premiership: 2015–16
Lyon
- Division 1 Féminine: 2018–19
- Coupe de France: 2018–19
- UEFA Women's Champions League: 2018–19
Individual
- FA WSL Club Player of the Year: 2011
- FA WSL Fans Player of the Year: 2011, 2012
- FA WSL Club Players' Player of the Year: 2012
- FA WSL Players' Player of the Year: 2012
- NWSL Most Valuable Player: 2021
- NWSL Best XI: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2021
- NWSL Second XI: 2016
- NWSL Team of the Month: 2x 2017
- NWSL Player of the Week: 2013, 2015, 2x 2017)
- W-League Best XI: 2012
- W-League Grand Final: Player of the Match: 2013 & 2017
- W-League League Players Player of the Year: 2013
- W-League Club Players Player of the Year: 2013
- Welsh Footballer of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018
Manager Awards
Melbourne City
- W-League Championship: 2016–17
Images for kids
-
Fishlock playing for Wales, September 2015
